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Western Australia Day - Guide to 1983 State Cabinet Records

The re-opening of the Perth-Fremantle railway line, the abolition of the death penalty, drought relief, electoral reform, an inquiry into granting land rights to Aboriginal people, and the introduction of light rail in Perth, were issues considered by State Cabinet in 1983.

To mark Western Australia Day, an online Guide to the 1983 State Cabinet Records has been produced by the State Records Office. This year the Guide includes commentary by Emeritus Professor David Black AM, Chairperson of WA Parliament's History Advisory Committee, on the events and issues facing State Cabinet in 1983, focussing on the activities of Brian Burke's Labor Government which was elected on 19 February of that year.

State Cabinet considered a variety of issues in 1983. The minutes and decisions reveal deliberations to establish a single State water authority, the development of parameters for the foreign ownership of land, the acquistion by government of equity in Fremantle Gas and Coke and Northern Mining Corporation and the establishment of the Western Australian Development Corporation. The records also document the setting up of the Beazley Inquiry into Education, the drafting of legislation to control excessive price increases and moves to decriminalise homosexuality.